Question
Asalamualaikoom, I would like to know, as a guest on the dastar kaan is a guest permitted to ask for salt from the host.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
General etiquette demands that a guest refrains from asking for any food item that is not availed to him. However, items that are generally found in most households, such as salt and water, may be requested by the host.
The guest should ask for salt in a manner which will not embarrass the host or cause the womenfolk to feel offended with regards to their cooking. For instance, the guest may ask for salt saying: ‘I take slightly more salt than others.”
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Nabeel Valli
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia